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A Biblical Letter from Christians to Gay People

A Facebook friend of mine posted a link on my page called “An Open Letter from Christians to Gay People.” I wrote “A Biblical Letter from Christians to Gay People” in response.

To all gay persons,

For the times when those who call themselves Christians have bullied, condemned, and cursed you, we repent. Please forgive us. Forgive us for setting homosexuality above other sexual sins (adultery, pre-marital sex, pornography, lust) because in almost every book of the Bible, God makes it clear that sexual purity is His goal for all believers. Forgive us for making it sound like you alone deserve hell. Because we all do. Forgive us for not recognizing the layers of brokenness that make up your life, like all our lives, and the impact that has had on you. Forgive us for not taking the time to listen. Forgive us if by rejecting your gender we have pushed you into an identity that goes against God’s will for His people. Forgive us for denouncing your sin while at the same time trying to protect and coddle our own pet sins. Christ has made you worthy of His love, and we cannot withhold our love from you and call ourselves His followers.

To Christ,

Jesus, I ask that you forgive me for bowing to social pressures. Forgive me for letting the media shape my view of sexuality rather than the innumerable references in the Bible to marriage being between one man and one woman, your hatred for all sex outside of marriage, and your clear commands to live a sexually pure life. Forgive me for not reaching out to those You love outside of the Body of Christ because I have been uncomfortable. Forgive me for not standing up for Your truth because I have been fearful of being called a bigot, uneducated, or homophobic. Forgive me for twisting the scriptures to make Your gospel look like a gospel of affirmation, rather than a gospel of transformation. You accept us as we are, but do not leave us as You found us. Jesus, by the power of Your Spirit, give us the perfect balance of grace and truth, and a love that transforms the world.

Christ, please help my attitude identical to Yours when a sexually immoral woman was brought before You: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

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9 thoughts on “A Biblical Letter from Christians to Gay People”

You speak for all Christians? My “layers of brokenness that makes up my life?” Pardon, some of you denounce “my sin” as you label it, many more denounce my “lifestyle choice.” Either way, it is denouncing who I am because I was born this way. Interesting you chose to blog this and make it public. The public prayer reminds me of the publican, beating his chest to be seen. Perhaps simply approaching the people you know that need to be spoken to, face-to-face, will open up more dialog and clarify feelings and emotions.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” http://bible.us/Phil2.3.NIV

Thank you for your comments. This letter is no more from all Christians than “An Open Letter from Christians to Gay People” to which this was written in response, is from all Christians. It is my letter to gay people and to Christ. You rightly admonish me to connect with my gay friends personally and face-to-face. I hope that if you choose to continue reading other posts such as “Since when did homosexuals become the church’s public enemy number one?” and “Why do you hate gay people?” it will be apparent that that is exactly what I’m recommending. Again, thank you for your comments.

Thanks for the comment Harold. The attractions and behaviors certainly aren’t new, but the way we as a society respond has changed rapidly. The burden of balancing grace and truth falls squarely on the shoulders of those of us who follow Christ.

Hi, I am a bit wary of challenging you on your prayer as it is meaningful to you – but can you clarify this statement – ” Forgive us for denouncing your sin while at the same time trying to protect and coddle our own pet sins.” Are you saying being Gay is a sin? If this is so I would imagine a Gay person would find this prayer offensive. Being Gay is not a sin.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post a reply, when I seen my comment dissappear after waiting in moderation for awhile I thought I might have offended you. It is sometimes hard to pick the tone of written words. (Not to mention I often get a bit….abrupt 😦 ) I will reply, probably on weekend when I still have some energy left. Cheers

Haha. No, not offended. My delayed responses have less to do with the one asking and more to do with the demands of having four young children in the home. I really am an unlikely blogger, and actually would fit better with the Mommy bloggers than discussing this polarizing, emotion-filled, and oft-political topic. I really do appreciate your questions, and the opportunity to work them through.